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Ecocide is a term that is recently starting to gain a little ground in the public’s eye, but what is it, where does it come from, and just what are the chances of it becoming an internationally legislated crime? To find out more about Ecocide I invited Jojo Mehta to come on the podcast. Jojo is the Co-Founder & Executive Director, Stop Ecocide International. Stop Ecocide International is the driving force behind, and central communications hub for, the growing global movement to make ecocide an international crime.

There are tensions in the crusade to protect the planet’s natural habitats. Countries with advanced, service-based economies can more easily pass legislation that protects swaths of natural land. Countries whose economies rely on agricultural production face a much tougher decision – whether to risk their economic stability by taking steps to protect forests and reduce emissions or prioritise economic production with current, fossil-fuel emitting practices. On the local level, prioritising the protection of biodiversity poses a risk to communities whose livelihood is dependent on industrial and agricultural production. How do we protect the world’s natural ecosystems and preserve biodiversity in a way that also protects people who have worked the land for generations, and have few alternative sources of income?

Pilita Clark talks to Philippe Sands, human rights barrister, professor, author and an expert in international law who recently co-chaired a panel that produced a legal definition of the crime of ‘ecocide’. He says there is growing support for the introduction of a law that could put presidents and chief executives in the dock at the International Criminal Court in the Hague.